Hamlet's Minor CharactersHamlet It is reasonable to wonder what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote Hamlet. After all, Shakespeare was not a philosopher or a historian, or even a literary critic. He was a playwright. He left us no critical essays examining his work. It is up to us to examine his work and decide for ourselves, if we will, what Shakespeare thought. Did he know that he was writing a drama of profound psychological significance, a work that would eventually be seen and read around the world, performed many times over hundreds of years, taught in schools, and considered one of the world's greatest works? I, for one, imagine him crossing the "t" in the last word of the work, putting down his pen and saying "I hope it lasts a year." Yet Hamlet is an extremely complex play. To appreciate the imagination that went into the creation of this tragedy, let us first delve into arguably Shakespeare's most complex tragedy, King Lear. Lear has three daughters: Cordelia, who is faithful and unappreciated by Lear, and Regan and Goneril who receive everything from his hands and betray him. These themes of misplaced love and filial betrayal are reflected in the play's subplot, the relationship between the Earl of Gloster and his two sons, Edmund, who is supported and approved by Gloster and betrays him, and Edgar, who unjustly becomes a fugitive. from his father's anger. The mirror is whole. In it we see Cordelia's reflection and we see Edgar, while the reflections of Regan and Goneril, who have the same face, show us Edmund. In the main plot of Hamlet, Hamlet's father was murdered. Hamlet swears revenge, but feigns madness and delays. In the subplot, the chamberlain Polonius is murdered by Hamlet. One of Polonius' sons, Laertes, vows revenge, while the other, his daughter Ophelia, goes mad. Here the mirror is broken. Hamlet's reflex is chipped. We see a part of him, his motive for revenge, in Laertes' action, and we see his feigned madness in Ophelia's pitiful condition. Furthermore, Hamlet's image is tarnished compared to that of his colleagues. Hamlet talks about revenge, but procrastinates; Laertes immediately raises an army and attacks the kingdom, but must be satisfied for the murder of his father. Hamlet is just acting crazy; Ophelia's madness is too real. In addition to production, selling out tickets and royalties, the typical goals of the playwright, what was Shakespeare aiming for??